The Democratically-controlled House of Representatives passed a sweeping reform bill to address money’s corruption of politics and the erosion of voting rights on Friday. “It’s a power grab for the American people,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) told theNew York Times. Among the reforms proposed in the bill are: Making Election …
Read More »Why Did a Bunch of Republicans Vote Against a Bill Condemning Bigotry?
This wasn’t supposed to be hard. On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted on a resolution denouncing hatred. The bill was introduced as Democrats grappled with how to respond to what pro-Israel lawmakers have considered anti-Semitic sentiments expressed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), but its language encompassed pretty much every …
Read More »Charlie Kirk Insists He's Not Already Running for President
NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND — Charlie Kirk holds court a few steps away from a cardboard cutout of himself. Real-Life Charlie is taller than Cardboard Charlie, but Cardboard Charlie has red lipstick on one cheek, presumably from a real-life kiss. Both Charlies wear navy blue suits with sneakers — no tie. …
Read More »This Battle of Billionaires Was Inevitable
The original “Battle of the Billionaires” was a harmless entertainment event, pitting WWE chief Vince McMahon against Donald Trump in Wrestlemania 23. It was notable for being perhaps the last time Trump was not cast as the heel in a public showdown. Nothing was at stake beyond McMahon’s hair, which …
Read More »Don't Let the Jussie Smollett Hoax Fool You: Hate Crimes Are on the Rise
Three weeks after claiming he was attacked by a pair of masked men yelling racist and homophobic slurs, Empire actor Jussie Smollett turned himself in to Chicago police on Thursday. Smollett has been charged withfiling a fake police report portraying himself as the victim of a hate crime. Attorneys for …
Read More »11-Year-Old Florida Student Arrested After Clashing With Teacher Over Pledge
An 11-year-old Florida student was arrested last week and charged with a misdemeanor after exchanging words with a teacher who took issue with the child’s refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The Lawton Chiles Middle Academy sixth-grader told substitute teacher, Ana Alvarez, that he would not stand because …
Read More »Former Astronaut Mark Kelly Enters the 2020 Senate Race
One of the closest races of the 2018 midterms was the battle for the U.S. Senate seat in Arizona vacated by Jeff Flake. It took a recount to determine that Democrat Kyrsten Sinema edged out Republican Martha McSally, who ignored calls from the White House to accuse her opponent of …
Read More »Parkland: One Year Later
On Valentine’s Day 2018, a 19-year-old ex-student took an Uber to his old high school; he walked across the campus and into a three-story building, where he killed 17 people and injured 17 more. It was the sixth of 24 shootings in U.S. schools last year, but the incident at …
Read More »What Will Your Future Look Like Without Local News?
It’s not easy to witness the watchdog of our democracy being sadistically euthanized. Another week, another wave of massive journalism layoffs. And with it, another round of hand-wringing and legitimate cries about what we stand to lose when newspapers — especially local newsrooms — are gutted. As many have pointed …
Read More »Journey to Antarctica: Jeff Goodell Begins His Trip to Thwaites Glacier
This is the first dispatch in a series from Jeff Goodell, who will be investigating the effect of climate change on Thwaites glacier. READ: The Doomsday Glacier I’m writing this aboard the Nathanial B. Palmer, a 308 foot-long ocean research vessel that is, at this moment, tied up at a …
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